‘Jersey Shore’ Is The Culmination of Everything MTV Stands For

MTV hit the airwaves for the very first time 37 years ago today, and while very few (if any) actual 37-year-olds would ever agree with this, the network’s latest hit, Jersey Shore Family Vacation is made up of the exact DNA the channel was founded on.

MTV’s entire mission was to appeal to young people: to show them what they were interested in and talking about and certainly would be talking about, while being edgy and ahead of, or really, creating the trends. The content was sexy and ridiculous and able to introduce new pop culture moments to people and places all around the country, those who were previously unaware of the phenomenons they were now watching with their own eyes. While MTV moved the needle forward in so many ways, they were always dangerous and unappealing to older generations, remaining rebellious and uninterested in growing up while still having a damn good time — sound like anyone you might know?

Oh right, there was also that whole “music” thing that MTV used to be focused on, particularly in its conception, but critics have been grumbling for decades about its absence, and if we’re honest, the channel has been less focused on music for longer than it actually was showing nonstop music videos. Even the original TRL iteration was way more about seeing cute boys and the midriffs of young women than it was about the actual songs.

So what is it about a group of guidos that carries on the MTV tradition so accurately? Jersey Shore is a show that depicts (arguably) sexy young people straight actin’ a fool in situations we’d be seeing in music videos anyway: drinking, dancing, partying, sex, and even GTL in some cases. They’re funny and shocking and make for great Halloween costumes, which is what all the best ’80s videos accomplished as well.

In fact, I’ve learned about several new songs from Jersey Shore Family Vacation, so that aspect of the channel is not being ignored nearly as much as one might believe it is. One of the best elements of the series is the bottom display announcing a background song’s artist and title, and the show has used an interesting mix of music throughout the shenanigans we’ve witnessed — and we’ve witnessed a lot. And come on, it’s not as though MTV has completely abandoned their music roots — Pauly D is a DJ, after all.

Changing times call for changing methods and in no way does all of MTV’s reality-dominated programming resemble the seeds of the culture-shifting channel that began nearly four decades ago. But as MTV figures out ways to connect with modern young adults, they’ve capitalized in producing people that we can’t help but care about and in a deeper and more intimate way than we cared about VJs and maybe even certain artists as well. No matter how much you may or may not want to accept it, the true spirit and attitude of MTV is alive and well in Jersey Shore.

Where to watch Jersey Shore